The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-01-11

and none whatever that was direct.
According to a-to us-clri9Is but usual
custom in Germany, the demand of he pub
lie prosecutor and the contention of the
counsel for the defense were referred TO the
lega faculty of the University of Frank
fort-on-Oder TO decide upon. The umiver-
sity professors examined the evidence and
concluded that it made heavily against
Marie Keller that she must be subjected to
torture to extract from her the confession
required to finally establish her guilt and
Justify sentence of execution. Accordingly
the unfortunate girl was placed on the rack,
and her nerves and muscles so strained,
and her joints dislOcated, that in her agony
she cried out that she was ready to confess
She was removed from the rack and ad-
mitted her guilt, but every effort that was
made to obtain from her an explanation
how she had managed to extract the money
from bag and box failed. She would adj
init her guilt, but not say how she had COM
mitted the theft. But this confession
sufficed, and on June %, 1871, the unfortu-
nate Marie Keller executed.
Unfortunately we have such scanty in
formation relative to her end that we can
only say that the Lutheran pastor who pre-
pared her for death found her at first prey
to despair, still earnestly protesting her in
nOcence, retracting her confession, which
she declared was extorted from her sorely
by the uncomfortable agonies To which she
was subjected on the rack After a while,
however, the poor creature became more
composed, listened to his exhortations with
meekness and submitted herself TO the pros
pect of death in resignation TO the will of
God. The pastor was himself convinced
of her guilt, and did his utmost to induce
her To admit the justice of her sentence
but to this he could not bring her. She
would confess again if laid on the rack, but
never off il. She forgave her enemies,
though she did not know who they could
be; nevertheless, she was sure she had one
or more, or else, as she cOntended. how
could the ducat have come into her pocket?
She was hanged III the presence of a great
crowd, in the Bruder strasse, opposite the
door of the house where the theft had been
committed-before the eyes of Lampert
who had been robbed; of his wife, who had
vainly endeavored to save her: and of the
daughter, who had been with her daily
when the unhappy girl cleaned the room
where the money box was.
The poor girl had not been long dead be-
fore somehow a feeling arose among the
people of Berlin that, after all, in spite of
tine evidence against her, in spite of her
own confession, Marie Keller was guiltIess
and that it was judicial murder that had
been committed.
The evidence was discussed, and its weak
ner, the examining judge. the legal faculty
of Frankfort. the court, the public gen
orally, had missed se"ing one little feature
in the case which. when caught sight of
completely altered its complexion.
Why il that the mistress Of poor
Marie had offered her mother the money to
refund Lampert his loss, Was the offer
made out of charity II will be remem-
bered that when Frau Keller narrated this
tn 4 he's ifIItya h.a
aside as a lie, and did not ask another
question relative To it. Nevertheless after
Marie's execution the old woman persisted
in her story, and she did so people asked:
Why did Frau Lampert urge the money on
the woman and try To induce her to confess
that her daughter guilty.
The robbery in the Bruder strasse in
stead of being forgotten after Marie had
been hanged and buried, seemed as if it
would not be laid at rest. Ii continued to
| be discussed; parties formed; some accused
| Frau Lampert, others the daughter, Others
| again said that Lampert had made a mis-
calculation when counting his money and
| had written a wrong sum on the ticket. He
| had not been robbed. he had lost nothing
| he had deceived himself. This latter opin-
| ion slowly made its way and prevailed over
/ the others. IL was the only really satisfac-
! tory explanation of the mystery, and il
! one eminently simple. Ii was in vain
| for lampert to protest that he could not
| have been deseived: few believed him
| That Marie was innocent everyone con-
| cludcd and that crime had been committed
| universally admitted. and Marie's death
! was spoken of IA the murder in the Bru-
der strasSc' -when-one evening as Lam
per- came in from his tavern where he
drank beer with a few boon companions.
As he opened his house door, he saw some
thing that made him start back and utter q
| cry of horror. Before him was his wife's
body, hanging from ii crook i'll the ceiling.
Almost before he had recovered himself
| and had the courage to cut her down. the
examining magistrate and a policeman ar,
| rived The former had received letter
from Nine Lampert, I'm which she con
fessed that Marie had died innocent, and
that she had surreptitiously taken the money
while assisting her husband in counting it
As she counted she had slipped some of the
coins up her sleeve. He was going OH tn.
morrow To Leipsic, and she had been giver
a sum of money only adequate to meet the
ordinary household expenses. This had
annoyed and disappointed her. III her hus
band went 10 Leipsic he would enjoy him
self there, go to the theater, drink wines
dine WE'LL while she drudging at home
The temptation took her to purloin a few
pieces of money wherewith she hoped tc
give herself and her daughter some amuse
ment during her husbands absence. II,
had at once discovered the loss, and. afraid
of his temper, she had not dared to confess
what she had done, but had slipped one OF
the ducats into the servant girls pocket
Afterwari, when RE III prison and
under investigation, she had been too fright
ened To confess the truth lest she should
have been imprisoned in the place of Marie
and have been sentenced to the gallows.
Thus she had seen the unfortunate anC
guiltless victim of her crime die under hel
eyes, and she had been ever since hauntes
by the sight and tortured by the sting o.
her conscience.
This lct5e1 she sent TO the exsmin ms
judge by a servant and at once proceede,
TO hang heroeIf close 10 the doorway oppo
site which Marie had been hanged. Wheel
she was cut down she was quite dead. Fo
/ rlanv vcn.~ after the people of Berlin
,-,,r....,S